Make your own lava lamp

Here's a fun science experiment that we did Wednesday night at our Headlands Branch that you and your kids can do at home.

Jack fills his bottle with oil and water and lets them settle.

Step 1: Fill a plastic bottle with one part water, two parts oil and let them settle. Use a funnel or this experiment gets a lot messier.

Rachel adds food coloring to her mixture.

Step 2: Once the water and oil have settled, add ten drops of food coloring—any color you like.

Ellie drops a glow stick in to add a little color.

Step 3: If you're feeling funky, activate a glow stick by cracking it and then drop it in the bottle. (Note: if you're going to keep your lava lamp, you'll have to swap out your glow stick every now and again.)

Olivia reaches for an Alka-Seltzer tablet.

Step 4: Drop an Alka-Seltzer tablet your bottle and watch the colored water erupt into the oil. The more pieces of tablet you put in, the crazier it will get.

Once the tablet dissipates, the oil and colored water will settle back down. But all you need is another tablet to get the party started again.

This year we’ve dedicated our Summer Reading Program to science, so we've been making fun experiments all summer.

In June, we made tiny hovercrafts out of CDs and balloons over at the Headlands Branch. On August 13, we'll be blowing stuff up. (Don't worry. The explosions will be small, though they may be a little messy.)

Our Summer Reading Program runs until Aug. 2. That means there is still time for your child to become a Library Champion.

Everyone who participates in our summer reading programs—either by reading and/or attending library programs—has a chance to win prizes. Grand prizes include a $100 gift card from Toys ‘R’ Us for kids and Nook eReaders for teens and adults. The more someone reads, the better chance they have of winning something.

And everyone is invited to our Summer Reading Finale, Aug. 7 over at our Read House, which is next door to our Main Branch on Mentor Avenue.

Visit Mentor Library’s Facebook page for more photos of kids making their own lava lamps.

Edgar Allan Poe visits the library

Aside from the occasional visit by Mark Twain, it's difficult to convince dead authors to speak at the library. So we considered it quite a coup when Edgar Allan Poe agreed to talk at Mentor Public Library this Friday.

Sure, it wasn't Poe, per se, but Jim Knight performing as Poe. But considering Poe has been quite dead for quite some time, Knight serves as an excellent substitute

In addition to hearing The Tell-Tale Heart and The Raven, we learned a few interesting facts about Poe's life on Friday.

For example, Poe never considered himself a horror, suspense or even a mystery writer. He was a romantic and nearly everything he wrote—even the macabre stuff—was in the pursuit of beauty. (Of course, you may disagree with what he considers beautiful.)

Oh, and he loathed Longfellow.

As we may have mentioned a few dozen times, we turned July into Know Poe month. We've celebrated all aspects of Poe this month: his writing; his influence on art and cinema; his groundbreaking work in suspense and detective fiction; his interest in codes and cryptography. It wasn't easy, but we even found an age-appropriate way to introduce Poe to kids.

We've given away hundreds of collections of Poe's poetry and short stories (and a few snazzy Know Poe T-shirts, as well.)

This gentleman earned his Know Poe shirt by quoting the entirety of "The Raven" to us during a Flash Library at the park.

The festivities—or, rather, since we're talking about Poe, perhaps, we should say "the oddities"—are almost concluded. But there's still time to join us for one final Know Poe book talk. It's this Thursday, July 31, at 7 p.m. in Wildwood Cultural Center.

Join us for a discussion on Poe. Talk about what you loved, what you disliked, what scared you, what impressed you about him. Find out what other people thought.

We hope you join us and we hope you enjoyed getting to Know Poe this July.

Wands, Wishes & More Fairies at the Library

Kayla casts a spell during our Wands & Wishes story time.

Another fairies story time with more wishes? Why not? After all, you shouldn't limit how many wishes a kid can make. (Unless you're a genie. Then three is pretty much the accepted maximum.)

On Friday, kids had a special scavenger hunt in which they searched our Read House yard for clues to the ingredients of Fairy Soup. (That's a soup FOR fairies, not made OF fairies, by the way.)

They also practiced casting spells and made wish boxes in which they can keep their wishes.

There's a lot of glitter in this Fairy Soup but absolutely no fairies.

Once the kids figured out all of the ingredients, they made a special batch of Fairy Soup.

And the soup was so good our fairy friends, Brzzt and Ivy Greenbriar, returned to thank the children for their gift.

Ivy Greenbriar is the one with the wings.

Fairy Soup may look pretty with all of its flower petals and glitter, but it's not especially tasty; so the kids snacked on cupcakes afterward, instead.

Hazel's dress coincidentally coordinated with her cupcake.

You can visit Mentor Public Library's website for more children's programs, and check out its Facebook page for more photos from its Wands & Wishes story time.

Splish Splash Water Science at Mentor Library

Saige and Natasja relax with a pair of freeze pops.

This year we've dedicated our Summer Reading Program to science, so we had some fun with the science of water last week.

Kids tested the surface tension of water by seeing how many droplets they could fit on a coin, checked to see which fabric absorbed the most water and recorded everything in their science logs.

They also tested the density of different items by seeing if they'd float in a pool.

Do dinosaurs float? This one does.

But it wasn't all log books and logarithms. After all, water can also be used for art, so some of the kids tried their hands at watercolor painting.

Water's good for science AND art. Sarah paints with watercolors.

And, then, somebody broke out the water balloons and the freeze pops!

Somebody's about to get a science lesson in velocity.

Our Summer Reading Program runs until Aug. 2. That means there is still time for your child to become a Library Champion.

Everyone who participates in our summer reading programs—either by reading and/or attending library programs—has a chance to win prizes. Grand prizes include a $100 gift card from Toys ‘R’ Us for kids and Nook eReaders for teens and adults. The more someone reads, the better chance they have of winning something.

You can sign up for summer reading at any of Mentor Public Library’s branches.

Visit Mentor Library’s Facebook page for more photos from Splish Splash Water Science and our summer reading events.

Get to Know Poe during Mentor Reads

Dee Tarentino laughs during a Know Poe book talk at Mentor Senior Center.

There's still time to join one of our Know Poe book talks.

As part of our Know Poe month in July, we’re holding a city-wide book club called Mentor Reads.

We’ve compiled some of Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous poems and short stories, including “The Raven,” “The Tell-Tale Heart” and more, into books that are available throughout Mentor and Mentor-on-the-Lake.

You can pick up copies at any Mentor Public Library branch.

Take a book. It’s free! You can then join us for a discussion on Poe and his work. We've already had talks at city parks, Melt and Yours Truly, but there are still a couple of meetings left.

If you’ve always been interested in joining a book club or just love reading, this is a great place to begin.

Discussions will be at:
Friday, July 25, 12 p.m. at the News Herald
Tuesday, July 29, 6:30p.m. at Mentor Public Library Main Branch
Wednesday, July 30, 6:30 p.m. at Mentor Public Library Main Branch
Thursday, July 31, 7 p.m. at Wildwood Cultural Center

You can come to one or all of them. We can’t wait to hear what you think.

See you soon!

Click here for a full list of all our Know Poe programs.

Egg-celent Experiment during Mad Science Monday

We've experimented with squirt guns, bubbles and the five senses during Mad Science Monday this summer.

And, this week, things got a little messy.

Kids tested the strength of eggs by walking across them. Then they compared different packing materials—from Styrofoam to paper towel tubes—to see which best protected the egg when it was dropped.

We still have two more Mad Science Mondays before the end of summer reading. Every week we have different experiments from 1 to 2 p.m. outside of our Read House. We hold it rain or shine, and no registration is necessary.

Hope to see you there!

Having Fun at the Lake and Headlands Branches

Some fun from the chalk art program at Mentor Library's Headland Branch.

We have a lot of fun over at our Main Branch on Mentor Avenue with our dragon training and Mad Science Mondays, but you'll miss a whole lot if you never venture to our Headlands and Mentor-on-the-Lake Branches.

Just last week, we dyed T-shirts with Kool-Aid over at Lake Branch, and kids broke out the chalk and practiced their sketch art at Headlands.

We've also been having Lakeside Labs over at our Headlands Branch where we've learned about UV rays and built small hovercrafts.

It's about to get colorful at our Tye-Dye program.

The fun continues this week. Travelin' Man Band is playing a free concert this Wednesday evening at our Headlands Branch. (Bring a lawn chair or a blanket, if you like.)

And Know Poe—our month-long celebration of Edgar Allan Poe—continues at the Lake Branch tonight with Mystery on the Lake. Kids can use their sleuthing skills to solve a whodunnit. (After all, Poe did invent the detective genre, as well as horror.)

We're even making lava lamps on June 30 at our Headlands Branch. (You can use them while wearing your new tye-dye shirt.)

Getting creative with the chalk on the Headlands Branch sidewalk.

You can see what other programs and events we have coming up this summer at Mentor Public Library's website. So check it out and join us for some fun at any of our branches this summer.

Forensic Fun at Mentor Library

CSI stood for Children's Science Investigation during our Forensic Fun program.

As we've mentioned before, this year we're dedicating our Summer Reading Program to science.

Last Friday, we focused on the science that helps law enforcement solve cases. Kids analyzed lip prints and learned how to lift fingerprints from evidence.

The kids learn how to identify different kinds of lip prints, just like they were fingerprints.

They even made their own badges.

The badges were pretty cute, but we're not sure where they have jurisdiction.

And there's still plenty of science left this summer.

We're having Mad Science Mondays every week where children can perform hands-on experiments and make crafts with different themes. (This week, we're making egg drops over at The Read House. Come join us!)

We’re also hosting Trashy Tuesdays every other week where kids can make fun crafts using recycled supplies.

Linsay presses down on her paper so it can dry out and solidify during Trashy Tuesday.

And this Thursday we'll be exploring the science of water. You can register for it on Mentor Library's website.

Mentor Public Library's summer reading program runs through Aug. 2, so there's still plenty of time for kids, teens and adults to sign up.

Everyone who participates in our summer reading programs—either by reading and/or attending library programs—has a chance to win prizes. Grand prizes include a $100 gift card from Toys ‘R’ Us for kids and Nook eReaders for teens and adults. The more someone reads, the better chance they have of winning something.

If you want to sign up for summer reading, you can register for it at any of our branches.

Ms. Kim shows a couple of young scientists how to lift fingerprints.

Edgar Allan Poe for children

Zack squeezes the Tell-Tale Heart during our Poe-themed obstacle course.

As we may have mentioned once or twice already, Mentor Library has dedicated the month of July to Edgar Allan Poe. All month, we've been hosting Know Poe events: citywide book clubs, free film festivals, scary video contests; and we still have more to come.

However, admittedly, a lot of our Know Poe programs have been for adults and teens. After all, with all the people getting dismembered, buried or burnt alive, it's difficult to design appropriate Poe programming for children.

But Mentor Public Library is for the whole family, so we took it upon ourselves to create programs that would introduce children to Poe without traumatizing them.

Peyton and her mom, Theresa, sort out some Poe codes during our cryptography program at Headlands.

For example, we held a program for kids about Poe’s love of cryptography last Saturday at our Headlands Branch.

Cryptography, in case you haven't heard of it, is secret writing. Or, rather, it’s using codes and rubrics to hide secrets in plain sight. Poe was fascinated by cryptography and hid all sorts of secret messages in his prose and poetry. For example, he hid the name of his friend Sarah Anna Lewis in his poem “An Enigma.”

On Saturday, the kids used one of Poe's own rubrics to crack codes and learn secret messages.

Erin came dressed in costume for our life-sized, Poe-inspired game of Clue.

Then this week, we had a special life-sized version of Clue in which we transformed the Garfield Room into an enormous game board. Then we substituted Colonel Mustard and company with characters, places and demises from Poe stories.

Some people even showed up in costume.

Elizabeth hides in the House of Usher.

Just yesterday, we unveiled a special obstacle course where all 10 obstacles come from Poe stories. Kids had to dodge The Pendulum, escape The House of Usher, break The Gold-Bug's code and even make their own mask for a masquerade.

For more photos from the obstacle course, check out Mentor Library's Facebook page.

And we're not done yet.

On July 22, kids can use their sleuthing skills to solve a mystery at our Mentor-on-the-Lake Branch. After all, Poe did invent the detective genre, as well as horror.

(By the way, I know it’s not for children but we’re hosting a special horror writing workshop for teens on on Saturday at our Main Branch. It’s a fun opportunity for young writers to hone their crafts.)

You can sign up for any and all of these Know Poe events on Mentor Public Library’s website.

Paws-ing to Read

Nobody finds Paws to Read more relaxing than Caesar.

I've been talking about Poe and science so much this summer that I've neglected an old favorite—Paws to Read.

This program is a personal favorite. It pairs young readers (between the ages of six and 12 years old) with therapy dogs, who listen to the children as they read.

If your child can read independently but doesn’t like to do it in front of other people, you might try signing them up for Paws to Read. (Especially if your son or daughter is also a dog lover.)

Annaliesse read to our newest Paws to Read volunteer: Jazz.

The next session is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 20, at Mentor Library's Main Branch.

Registration fills up quickly, so contact the children’s department at Mentor Public Library soon if you think you child could benefit from Paws to Read.

There is often a waiting list for the program once registration begins.

For more information on Paws to Read and other children’s programs at Mentor Public Library call (440) 255-8811 ext. 221.

Jenna and Diva take a reading break for some snuggle time.

For more photos from Paws to Read, visit Mentor Library's Facebook page.

Mermaids and parades with Mentor Library

Mentor Public Library broke out its finest beachwear for the Fourth of July parade in Mentor Headlands. Our theme: Dive into reading!

If you missed us on the Fourth, you can see us at the CityFest Parade on Aug. 23.

Jason channels Jimmy Buffett.

Driver/Navigator prepares for the parade route.

That's right. We found a real live mermaid. Her name is Marilyn and she works in the children's department.

Doreen, Gail and Shannon get ready to dive in.

The gangs all here!

Beach bums Cailey, Meredith, Kristin, Marilyn and Catherine get ready for the parade. (And that's lifeguard Kim on duty in the background.)

Our sand castle has a drawbridge (but no sand.)

No water in sight? Easiest lifeguard job ever.

For more photos from the parade and other library programs, visit our Facebook page.

Teens have a Minute to Win It

Teens competed in our Minute to Win It competition this Saturday.

You're going to want to watch the video—if only to see the faces the contestants made during Face the Cookie. (They have to move a cookie from their foreheads to their mouths, using only the muscles in their face.)

By the way, teens still have time to sign up for Mentor Library's summer reading program and our free horror writing workshop this Saturday.

Teens can enjoy a spa day at Mentor Library

Angelina and Rosa relax with their face masks on during the Spa Day at the library last year.

Hey teens, that summer job got you down? The looming return of school already feel overwhelming?

You deserve a break. Enjoy a free spa day on us this Tuesday at our Main Branch.

You can make yourself avocado face mask, paint your nails, get a hand massage—just relax.

(Oh, and while you're here, make sure to sign up for our summer reading program and our free horror writing workshop this Saturday.)

Join the ranks of our Library Champions!

Congrats to Giselle and all of our Library Champs!

You may have noticed our Library Champion signs popping up in yards in and around Mentor this summer. And when you saw them, you may have thought, "That's a snazzy sign. How can I become a Library Champion?"

The bad news is that these signs aren't for grownups. However, the good news is that, if you're a kid, you already possess the innate potential to be a Library Champion.

Every child that signs up for our Summer Reading Program and reads (or is read to) for 15 hours gets a Library Champion yard sign.

Sam's got a great book and a 100% organic reading chair.

Our Summer Reading Program runs until Aug. 2. That means there is still plenty of time for your child to become a champion.

You can sign up for summer reading at any of Mentor Public Library's branches.

You can see more Library Champion photos on Mentor Library's Facebook page.

Edgar Allan Poe's love of cryptography

Edgar Allan Poe was fascinated by cryptography and codes.

When you remember Edgar Allan Poe, you tend to think of people getting dismembered, buried or burnt alive.

Consequently, a lot of the programs during our Know Poe month this July are aimed toward teens and adults.

But we didn't forget about the kids. We've found some fun ways to introduce Poe to children without traumatizing them.

For example, we're hosting a program for kids about Poe's love of cryptography this Saturday at our Headlands Branch.

And what is cryptography, you ask. It's secret writing or, rather, it's using codes and rubrics to hide secrets in plain sight. Poe was fascinated by cryptography and hid all sorts of secret messages in his prose and poetry, including the name of a friend. His treasure story, The Gold-Bug, revolves around a coded message.

Kids entering third through sixth grade can solve a few cryptograms and even create a few of their own this Saturday at our Headlands Branch. Click here to register your child for our cryptography program. (By the way, all of our programs are free.)

And that's not our only Know Poe program for kids. On July 17, we're unveiling a special obstacle course where all 10 obstacles come from Poe stories. Then, on July 22, kids can use their sleuthing skills to solve a mystery at our Mentor-on-the-Lake Branch. After all, Poe did invent the detective genre, as well as horror.

(By the way, I know it's not for children but we're hosting a special horror writing workshop for teens on on July 19 at our Main Branch. It's a fun opportunity for young writers to hone their crafts.)

You can sign up for any and all of these Know Poe events on Mentor Public Library's website.

Mad science experiments for kids each Monday

Lily uses a frame to make an enormous bubble during Mad Science Monday at Mentor Library.

Mentor Public Library is dedicating its summer reading program to science this year. That means we've been blowing up pop bottles and bringing in NASA scientists to talk about Mars rovers.

Kids can get involved with the science, as well.

Every week we have Mad Science Monday from 1 to 2 p.m. outside of our Read House. We hold it rain or shine, and no registration is necessary.

Clara plays percussion by spraying a Splash Orchestra with water.

Every Monday, kids can try out new experiments. So far this summer, they've already manipulated the shapes of bubbles, tested their five senses and used squirt guns as percussive instruments.

Kids can visit us each Monday to see what our new scientific theme is.

And, while you're at the library, you and your children can sign up for our summer reading programs.

Owen gets a whiff of vinegar while learning about his five senses.

Everyone who participates in our summer reading programs—either by reading and/or attending library programs—has a chance to win prizes. Grand prizes include a $100 gift card from Toys ‘R’ Us for kids and Nook eReaders for teens and adults. The more someone reads, the better chance they have of winning something.

If you want to sign up for summer reading, you can register for it at any of our branches.

Visit Mentor Library's Facebook page for more photos from Mad Science Mondays and our summer reading events.

Thinking with Ink during Know Poe

Leah uses a fine paintbrush so she can ink detail lines.

We're celebrating Edgar Allan Poe's work all July during the Know Poe festival at Mentor Library.

When we talk about Poe's influence, we're mostly talking about his affect on writers. He did, after all, create two genres: the horror and detective story.

But Poe influenced all types of artists. (We've already discussed his effect on cinema.) And Monday, we talked about the influence his stories had on illustration.

Lou Geis includes a "Quote the Raven" in the corner of his inking.

Poe is associated with dark art—which is not to be confused with the dark arts. When his stories included illustrations, they all made us of heavy lines and midnight blacks. That's partly a byproduct of technology. With the proliferation of presses, inked prints became more common than paintings.

So when Poe collections were being printed, it made more sense aesthetically and economically to illustrate them with dark, heavy inkings.

Elizabeth uses heavy, dark lines to draw the viewer's eyes to her tree branches.

Artist Del Borovic taught a workshop Monday night at our Main Branch that showed people how they can make their own Gothic ink masterpieces. (You can find more photos from the workshop on Mentor Library's Facebook page.)

And we'll be having more Poe events all month. Our Know Poe film festival continues this Thursday with a free screening of Vincent Price's The Raven at the Atlas Cinemas at Great Lakes Mall.

Then, on July 19, we're hosting a horror writing workshop for teens.

Click here for a full list of our Know Poe programming.